First Steps
by jtav
Summary: Mako is falling back into love with Asami. But it would be foolish to make the same mistake again. Or, Mako and Asami try to get Tu his job back and Asami ponders dating after Korra.


_Dear Korra,_

 _It's 3:15. Weather is sunny and warm. I am sitting under a tree in Asami's front yard. She is sparring with Tu. Wu is sitting next to me_ …

He felt rather than saw Wu reading over his shoulder. Wu was surprisingly normal and charming when Mako visited his family twice a week, but it looked like Mako's good luck was coming to an end. "You are a really boring letter writer."

"I've never been a word person," Mako said with a growl. "Are you sure you don't want to go inside? You might get dirt on your clothes."

"Some things are worth a little dirt. Come on, Tu!" he shouted as Tu tried for a right jab to Asami's jaw. But Tu's form had been sloppy all day, and Mako had never known Asami could be anything less than graceful and precise. She bobbed to one side, and smiled. Mako noticed the opening Tu had left half a second before Asami kneed him in the solar plexus.

"Oh, the humanity." Wu whimpered and averted his eyes before brightening suddenly as his eyes fell on the paper in Mako's lap. "Not a word person? Lucky for you, I am. Rhetoric and composition are the hallmarks of a future king's education." He threw an arm around Mako's shoulders. "Now the trick to a good letter is to tell a story."

"I'm not really a storyteller either. And things have been boring." Too boring. The reunification of the Earth Kingdom and a return to police work couldn't come fast enough.

"No they haven't. You've gone from Mr. Sour and Grumpy to actually smiling a little. You visit your family twice a week like clockwork. Something is clearly going on. Ever since you abandoned me for that embezzlement case at Future Industries."

"Just reconnecting with Asami." She punched Tu in the jaw. Really, she should let him bend just to make things fairer.

"Then write about that! And let me read it because I didn't even know you had friends before we started coming here. Which is really lousy because that means I could've met your family sooner and—"

 _"All right._ " Anything to keep Wu quiet. Mako bit his lip and put pen to paper.

 _Dear Korra,_

 _So Asami and I are talking again. It's been really nice to have her around. She's the only one I can really be myself with now that you and Bolin are gone. We see each other twice a week now when I have dinner with my family. I think being around my family has been good for her. The day I came into her office, she looked so miserable. But she smiles at Grandma Yin and laughs at Chow's jokes. She actually uses the room she keeps here at the mansion. It looks like she's sleeping better. After everything I did to make you both miserable, I'm glad she's a little happier. And I hope you get better soon._

Wu snatched the letter from Mako's lap. "Still awful." But as he reread the letter, a grin broke out across his face. "Mako, you sly fox-dog. Why didn't you tell me that you had a thing for Asami?"

Mako dropped his pen. His brain and heart were both somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach and he could only splutter broken bits of sentences: "What do you—it's not like—we're not—"

And that apparently counted as confirmation because Wu's smile just got bigger. "Friends to lovers! Classic!" His voice was low and syrupy, fake even for him. "And may I say you have excellent taste."

Mako watched Asami move with easy grace, her skin glowing with exertion and high spots of color on her cheeks. She really did look better, less haunted. Every time they met she was so full of ideas. Her latest theory was that there was some way to harness the energy of the vines in a spirit-friendly manner. Mako hadn't been able to follow even half of it, but her excitement had been palpable even though a prototype would be years away and the board had almost had a seizure at the money that would be involved. And she had been kind enough to let near-strangers into her home. And she was—

Okay, maybe he had a bit of a thing. "Anyone would be lucky to have someone like her. But I'm not really the guy for her." He hadn't known what he wanted when he had her. He'd tried to have both of the women he loved, and lost them instead. And he had seen the look on Asami's face when Korra was poisoned. She loved her. And he was pretty sure Korra had had a crush on Asami before she got sick. Korra was going to get better, the two of them were going to live happily ever after, and Mako was going to be the best friend he could to both of them. And someday he would find someone and never ever hurt her the way he had hurt Asami or Korra.

"Nice fight," Asami told Tu as she offered him a hand up. "You seem a little out of it today. Is something wrong?"

"No."

"I know you're a detective, and I'm not," Wu stage-whispered, "but that definitely sounded like the kind of 'No 'that really means 'something is very definitely wrong and I'm grouchy about it.'"

Mako started. First Wu was going outside voluntarily, now he was picking up tone. He checked the sky for flying ostrich-pigs.

"We should ask him about it," Wu continued.

"I don't think that's—" Mako said, but Wu was already on his feet and walking briskly towards the locker room.

Wu barged in just as Tu was removing his sparring gear. He definitely did look upset, all barely restrained tension. Mako took back the part about letting him bend. Tu looked like he could level a house if someone so much as breathed wrong. He looked up. "What do you want?"

Mako tried to lay a restraining hand on Wu's arm; but he was already walking towards the bench and sitting down, heedless of Tu's personal space. "You seem kinda down. Mako and I just wanted to cheer you up."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure? My acupuncturist always said that talking was the number one stress reliever."

"You wouldn't understand. Either of you. You've had everything handed to you." And Mako thought he heard something more than anger in Tu's voice.

Mako took a deep breath. It was an old accusation, but one that stung more than it should coming from family. "Take a deep breath and tell me what's going on."

"Yeah, tell us." Wu tried to put his arm around Tu, but Tu ducked away. Wu flinched as if someone had slapped him. "I can be really understanding," he finished feebly.

"I lost my job, all right?" Tu raked his hands through his hair. "Gan's nephew wanted a job, and Gan decided he should have mine."

Mako frowned. Asami have been very generous with his family, but most of his cousins had done their best to find work now that they couldn't run their own fruit stand. Tu had been one of the more successful ones, getting a job as a bookkeeper at Gan's Groceries. "That's rough," he said lamely. "I'll help you keep an eye on the classifieds, maybe ask around."

"Yeah, sure."

Wu blinked in confusion. "Am I missing something here? You live in this big mansion. It's got nothing on the Four Elements, but it's still pretty swanky. Why do you need a job?"

"Because I don't want—oh, forget it."

Wu tried for the embrace again. "But I want to understand."

This time Tu shot to his feet. Wu was left wobbling dangerously, and Mako had to dash forward to catch him. Tu rounded on the both of them. "You'll never understand because you're rich. Biggest thing you have to worry about is the waiter getting your sauce wrong. I don't want to be dependent on charity for the rest of my life. I was trying to save a little money, start my own grocery business with actual fresh food. But unlike Mako here, I'm not going to bump into the richest girl in the world or start dating the Avatar."

Mako's eyes went wide. Tu had been so proud of that fruit stand in Ba Sing Se; he'd had no idea his cousin's ambitions ran higher. "You're wrong. I do understand. Why do you think I got into pro bending? Or took that job at the power plant? We'll pound the pavement and you'll be back to saving your nest egg in no time. You're smart. You'll be able to find a job in no time."

"Again, you dated the Avatar. And I'm pretty sure the butler implied you were dating Asami too. You were lucky. You got the connections. You had so many connections, you couldn't pick between two of the most powerful women in the world. So don't tell me that it's not about who you know."

A soft knock was their only warning before Asami stepped inside. Her lips were drawn into a tight frown, and Mako's heart sank. He knew that look. She had heard everything. Tu stared at the floor sheepishly as he put the rest of his gear away. "I should get back to the house."

Wu looked like a polar bear dog puppy who had been denied his treat. "Why didn't he tell anybody? It's not right that he should lose his job like that." His eyes flashed as he took Mako by the arm. "I want you to take me down to this Gan's Groceries and we'll make him give Tu his job back."

Gan's Groceries was in the Dragon Flats Borough. It wasn't as bad as they had been during the Equalist uprising, but Mako still turned a little green at the thought of all the extra work he would have to do to get Wu in and out of their safely. "I don't really think that's the kind of neighborhood you want to visit." He looked over Wu's head to Asami and mouthed the words _help me._

Asami was all smiles and charm. "Mako and I will go over there tomorrow after his shift is over. How about that? All the extra work Mako would have to do to make the grocery store safe to visit would just annoy Mr. Gan. You have a better chance of getting what you want if just Mako and I go."

"Are you sure?" Wu asked skeptically. "Princes can be pretty persuasive. I don't know what he has against people like me, but I can prove to Tu that I'm not just a pretty face. Though I am very pretty."

Mako looked at him and gears slid into place in his mind. Wu's willingness to be outside. His false lechery when talking about Asami. The kicked puppy expression when Tu turned away. His charge had a little crush. On his cousin. Oh boy. As if his life didn't have enough complications. "I'll tell him you ordered us to go down there and act in your name. How about that?"

"Oooh, ordering. I like that. Sounds very authoritative." His smile turned sly. "I'm going to see what Asami's fabulous cook has whipped up for snacks. You two just stand there and… strategize." He walked towards the house, hands in his pockets and whistling.

Asami leaned against the doorframe. "If you asked me this morning what I was going to be doing tomorrow, helping Prince Wu impress the boy he likes would not have been on my list."

Mako rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. I like helping you out." She crossed the distance between them until Mako could almost imagine he felt the warmth of her body radiating off her. "Remember that pep talk you gave me about how I was a great CEO and deserved to be in charge? Need me to return the favor?"

"No. Tu's just got a chip on the shoulder. I'm used to it."

"Good. Because you can be pretty amazing when you try. "She took his hands and Mako suppressed a shiver. He had always liked her hands: long, smooth, strong fingers with slight calluses from the workshop. The heiress and inventor who could take him for a carriage ride in the park or a flight to the other side of the world. She had trusted him enough to break a little in front of him, crying into his neck when she thought Future Industries was gone forever. And now here they were trying to help each other not break in a world without Korra. And he was falling for her again, selfish idiot that he was.

She disentangled one hand to cup his cheek. The softness and roughness played across his skin. He could smell her, sweat and the barest remnant of something clean and sharp and forestlike. He'd never had or thought he needed such casual intimacy before Team Avatar, but he had become starved for it in the last year. To have someone at his side that he understood and who could understand him in turn. Mako closed his eyes. He could see a world where he had simply been honest with Korra and told her they had broken up. It would have been painful, but it would have saved them weeks of awkwardness after Harmonic Convergence. And maybe he could have kept Asami this time and been content with her. Neither of them would have been quite so alone. She could have peppered his face with kisses when she was excited by a new invention. He could have snuck into the mansion after a long shift with Wu. They would have sat by the fire, cuddling, before sneaking upstairs for bed. It was the kind of life he would have killed for as a cold, starving street urchin.

"Mako?"

Mako blinked. Asami was frowning at him. He shook his head to clear it. He had been silly and stupid a year and a half ago, and even before then, but there was nothing for it now. Asami was mourning Korra, not their disaster of a romance. She trusted him enough to be his friend, and he would be whatever she needed in return. He forced a smile and backed away. "See you in the morning."

He really had been an idiot.

* * *

 _Dear Korra,_

 _Things are going well here. It's been nice to have Mako back. I felt like my life stopped when you were poisoned, but it's easier with him. He's not the man you remember. He's quieter, more thoughtful. I'm laughing again. Smiling. He and his family saved me, Korra. And I think he has a crush on me. He looks at me too long and blushes when I touch him. And I like touching him. Is that all right? That I live and love and make stupid mistakes while you're trapped? Please, tell me it is._

Asami tore up the letter. Korra was sick; she didn't need Asami's self-indulgence. Asami put a hand to her forehead. She had promised herself that she would live her life while Korra was gone. She wouldn't be her father, letting grief poison love until it turned into rage. She remembered the feel of Mako's hand in hers. The hand holding had been an easy habit to fall into, and Asami had been greedy for such little intimacies after a year of being trapped by her grief. But an innocent lunch had turned into returning to life itself. She spent time with his family, slept over at the mansion instead of her apartment. Little by little, the spaces in her heart left scorched by Korra's absence began to heal and regrow. The pain would always be there, as it was for her mother, but she could live again. Love again. If that was what she wanted.

But did she? Mako was a solid presence next to her. He was never crude or forward, but she had seen the look on his face in the locker room: a more adult version of the besotted look he had worn on their carriage rides and dinner dates. He had been her first real love: a bridge between crushes on celebrities she barely knew and a mature relationship that she could build a life around. She given him her whole heart, trusting him with her grief when she had thought the company was ruined. And he had broken her heart twice in repayment. The wound was long since healed, but she could still remember the humiliation as she watched Mako and Korra embrace as if nothing had happened. And that, she thought, had settled things between them. They could be friends, but romantic love was too much to ask. And then Asami had fallen in love with Korra and it really had been all over.

But now Korra was gone. And neither she nor Mako were the people they once were. They could actually talk about embarrassing, uncomfortable things. She had been such a coward then, afraid even to visit him in prison when she knew he was innocent for fear of seeing the specter of her father's betrayal. But now… She wouldn't make him out to be some champion who would save her from all her problems. They would just be two people, together. Comforting each other. Loving each other. Not a bad thing to wish for—if it didn't end with her heartbroken.

"Ma'am," her butler announced. "Master Mako is here."

Asami took a deep, steadying breath **and** descended the stairs. Mako was dressed to blend in with the Dragon Flats Borough, exchanging his button-down uniform for a gray shirt and jacket and mussing his hair slightly. All he needed was a red scarf and she could almost believe it was two-and-half years ago and they were about to meet for a lunch date. "Ready?"

She blinked and shook her head to clear it. "I'm ready." They could deal with these echoes of the past once Tu got his job back.

Gan's Groceries was a shabby, cramped building with chipping paint on the sign. Asami sniffed. At least the food smelled fresh. A middle-aged man—presumably Gan himself—stood behind the counter. His gaze took in Asami's fine clothing, and he brightened immediately. "Good evening, miss. Can I interest you in fresh fish? Just delivered this morning."

"Maybe." Asami sauntered up to the counter. "Mr. Gan? I was hoping you could help me. One of your bookeepers, Tu, is a friend of mine. I was hoping you'd be willing to reinstate him."

Gan turned red. "Bright boy. Ambitious. But he was the last one hired. My sister and nephew had the good sense to get out of the Earth Kingdom, and I have to take care of them. I don't have enough money to hire my nephew and your friend."

Asami gave him her best "meeting with the investors" smile. It usually came down to money, and that was one thing she had in abundance these days. She withdrew a five thousand yuan note from her purse. "Would this make things more fair?"

Gan's eyes were large as he half-reached for the note, fingers trembling. "I—no it wouldn't do any good." His hand dropped to his side. He gestured to the windows which looked far cleaner than the rest of the building. "Street punks keep breaking the windows, and the cops can't be bothered to arrest them. Between that and cleaning up the graffiti, I need to cut all the other expenses I can, unless you plan to pay the boy's salary forever? "

"Oh, for—I kept telling Chief that we needed more patrols down here." Mako fished his badge out of his pocket and laid it on the counter. "If I can do something about these kids, will you please hire my cousin back?"

"Yes, yes I would. If you can get rid of those kids."

"So, how are you going to get Beifong to arrange a patrol?" Asami asked as they left.

"I'm not. But I bet Wu would be happy to ask her. She'll give it to him just to shut him up."

Asami imagined Wu leaning over Beifong's desk, demanding more cops on the street, and decided she almost felt sorry for her. "Devious I knew there was a reason I liked you." She felt giddy with success and amusement. The world wasn't such a bad place after all. And it was with that thought that she pecked Mako on the lips.

He was softer than she remembered, warmer. There was a brief intake of breath—surprise—and then he was kissing her back in earnest. Desperate, disbelieving. He smelled of fresh clean things and tasted of Fire Nation food. Asami's hand came around his neck and pulled him closer. Electrical sparks seemed to dance under her skin. It'd been so long since she felt like this, since she had let herself be carried away, and she rode the tide for all it was worth.

He pulled back first, blinking at her. "I—what—I'm sorry."

The wind whipped Asami's cheeks. What had she done? _The same thing I did last time. Kissed him without thinking._ And they all knew how that had turned out. "I kissed you first. We should go back to Wu and Tu. And then we should probably talk."

"Talk," he repeated, sounding like a man about to face his execution. "Yeah, we probably should."

Asami's thoughts crashed into each other as she drove them back to the estate. Memories of carriage rides and Korra kissing him. Dinner at Kwong's and Korra staring at her with dead eyes. The two threads of Asami's life mingling and fighting for supremacy. What did she want? And if she wanted him, were they doomed to go down the same path again and again?

Wu was waiting for them at the front door. "Well, did it work?"

Mako schooled his face into a mask of charm that wouldn't have fooled a ten-year-old. "We softened him up, but you need to close the deal. Ask Chief Beifong for more patrols in the Dragon Flats Borough."

Wu looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure that's something I want to use my royal influence on?"

"Absolutely." Mako stiffly put his hand on Wu's shoulder. "And this way you could take credit for getting Tu his job back. I'm sure he would be very impressed."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Asami said. "And maybe you two could go out for dinner."

Wu's eyes grew wide. "I—I don't know. I'm a prince and he's—what if he thinks I'm just playing around? What if we don't have anything to talk about? What happens when I have to go back to Ba Sing Se?" His words came faster and faster as he spoke and he gulped for breath as if he were one of Gan's freshly-caught fish. "Help me?"

"I do not have the best track record with relationships." Mako shot her a sidelong glance. "Maybe it'll work. Maybe not. But if you're willing to make the effort, you have a pretty good shot. You were already willing to brave the outdoors for him. Ask him. See what happens."

"Yeah. I was brave. Wasn't I?" Wu drew himself up to his full height and grinned. "Thanks, you two. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a charm offensive to carry out."

And then they were alone.

Mako sat at the foot of the grand staircase. "So, I guess we should go ahead and talk. Tear off the leech." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm really not good with this stuff, but I guess you know that. If you want to pretend this never happened, I totally get that."

Asami sat beside him. It was better to be honest. Being dishonest had been the problem the first two times. "I don't know what I want."

"Really?" There was something like hope in his eyes.

"We screwed up so badly last time." She dropped her eyes to her knees. "And I loved Korra. We both did. I'd like to move on, but I don't know if I'm over her enough. Whatever happens, you're my friend. You deserve better than a rebound."

"I'm the one who screwed up. I'd like to stop screwing up." He put his hand over hers. "As for the other stuff…maybe we could catch a mover. Take things slow this time? If it doesn't work out, well it's like you said. We're friends. And if I'm a jerk again, you can always use me for target practice."

"You're a lousy target." She thought of that letter to Korra. Maybe she was only setting herself up to get her heart broken yet again. But it was better than the grief. And she couldn't be less brave then Wu. "A mover sounds great." Her lips found her and it was soft and sweet and gentle, like a first kiss. Asami could feel a few more scars fading

It wasn't true love yet, Asami thought as his arms came around her. But it was a fine start.


End file.
